Harsh Light

A few days ago some friends over at Burn were talking about the difficulty of shooting in "bad" light. That is... sunny, midday. While it is usually ideal to wait for "good" light that is represented in the morning or evening, often you have no choice but midday light. What then? Ask one hundred photographers that question and you'll likely get one hundred different answers. But this is how I generally deal with harsh afternoon light.

These were shot around the house about 1PM.

Serene.

So I walk into the room and there she is. Chatting with her mom (or dad?)... by candle light. Didn't want to spoil the moment so I quietly turned around, found the camera, came back and silently tripped off a couple shots. So peaceful.

Color Temperature.

Let's talk about color. Or, rather, the psychology of color. There is a school of thought out there that says we humans are comforted by "warm" colors and discomfited by "cool" colors. A crackling fireplace, candle light, a campfire, sunrises and sunsets... these tend to instill in us a settled, even soothed emotion. And the warmth (color wise, not just heat wise) is in no small part the reason for this relaxed feeling.

Before the digital camera explosion photographers employed various techniques to create this warmth in their photos. An amber glass filter over the lens or shooting with daylight balanced film under tungsten lights. Today, we have white balance (WB) control in our dSLRs.

We can adjust the settings so as to create a cool, bluish tint in our photos or, as I usually like to do, create a more warm, yellowish/orange tint.

Below are two examples. One is shot at sunrise on a hazy beach morning. The other is around a fire-pit and tiki torches. You can see the effect you get setting the WB to a warmer setting and what happens when you set it to a cooler setting. Everyone is different, of course, so you may not like the warmer tones. But generally speaking, it is the warmer tones that people gravitate to when looking through images. Keep this in mind when your making your photographs. Are you creating an image that attracts people or gives them a sense of unease?

This is necessarily an incomplete post. Feel free to pepper me with questions if you need this fleshed out a little more.

Meantime, dig out your camera's manual and have some fun playing around with your white balance settings.

 

Cheers.

Quality of Light.

Good light is essential for good photography. Early morning, late evening, overcast with dramatic clouds, and of course a judicious use of flash.  Whenever possible avoid sunny, midday photography. Harsh light from directly overhead makes for pretty crappy images.

There are times of course when you have no choice but to shoot at or around noon. In those cases, go for it. Make the best of it. But when the sun starts sinking low get back out there. Even the weakest of compositions will benefit from better quality light.

Below are a few shots from a recent trip to that big peninsula at the southeast corner of the United States.

Up first, a shot at 5 in the evening with storm clouds in the distance. A lone fisherman wading into the deep in search of his quarry gives us a sense of scale.

Image two was taken around 7:30 PM while the sun briefly peeked through the clouds, casting long shadows and a warm glow on two beachcombers.

The next shot was taken about ten minutes later, the sun had gone back behind the clouds and I had an assistant hold a flash, camera left, pointed directly at the dude in the chair. Nice clouds, good background.

Last photo: 7AM, hazy sky, orange sun, silhouettes... 

Quality light is the key to quality photography.  Get out early, stay out late and shoot like mad!

Cheers.

My Accountant...Yet Again!

A couple more from the ongoing series:

Interesting Light.

This is my pal Bob. We're enjoying a few pints at the Dubliner in DC with our better halves. That dappled look is from the pub lights reflecting off the Guinness mirror on the wall behind me. I waited for him to move just enough so the light was over his eye, then clicked away.

Keep your photography eyes open. Cool light is everywhere.

Atmosphere.

Don't forget to take advantage of weather. Pay attention to the forecasts. Is there a chance of fog in the morning? Get up early and and shoot like crazy! Big storm acomin'? Find a vantage point that will really accentuate the ominous clouds rolling in.

When you go on vacation check the weather beforehand. Don't simply shoot on beautiful, perfect sunny days. Crappy weather can produce wonderfully dramatic images.

Be prepared for anything and take advantage of the unexpected. For the photo above, I was in a new place, didn't know what the weather would be, no idea what to expect, but got up early anyway. Glad I did!

A little atmosphere goes a long way.

Sunset

I believe it was Galen Rowell who said he photographed sunsets at every opportunity. There's one every day so why not? Same "sustained thermonuclear fire" as ever. (Here's the actual quote: "You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn't waste either." ) As the golden orb --Cold Comfort Farm, anyone? Anyone?--OK well, as it gets closer to the horizon the light working its way through the thicker atmosphere just can't be beat. People travel all over the world looking for the best sunset experience. A blanket and a bottle of wine in the Marin Headlands; a rustic cabin on a lagoon in the San Juan Islands; the drunken stumble of a freak show at Mallory Square in Key West. All worthy sunset viewing spots. However, next time you find yourself in front of a spectacular sunset (or sunrise for that matter), turn around. Something or someone behind you is being bathed in wonderful photographic light! I noticed this over the weekend in Blue Ridge Summit. And as I am lucky enough to have tolerant and willing subjects all around me, I had no choice but to take advantage. Thanks Matt, Jodi and Chris. You look great!

Shadows.

In 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' Carl Sagan describes a tremendous event: "An immense mass of gas and dust is swiftly collapsing under its own weight, spinning ever faster, transforming itself from a turbulent, chaotic cloud into what seems to be a distinct, orderly thin disk. Its exact center smolders a dull, cherry red. Watch from on high, above the disk, for a hundred million years and you will see the central mass grow whiter and more brilliant, until, after a couple abortive and incomplete attempts, it bursts into radiance, a sustained thermonuclear fire. The Sun is born." And roughly 5 billion years later this "sustained thermonuclear fire" shines in through my venetian blinded window and allows me to make a funky photograph!

Happy Chanukah!

More fun with existing light. Last night of Chanukah. All eight candles lit. Wait! some of you might say, there's actually nine! Why yes, you are correct! That candle in the middle would be the shammas. This is the "servant" candle. This is the candle that lights all the other candles. (See, I learned a little something after 12 years!) OK, digression over. Nine flaming candles make for pretty photos. Add a reflection from the window and an incandescent light or two behind you and a few Chanukah props on the table and soon you've got a nice warm holiday photograph. No special photography tricks on this one. I composed the shot, moved the items on table around til the photo felt "balanced," then let the camera's meter do the heavy lifting and just shot away. Ten frames at least! I liked this the best. Enjoy the holidays people! Shalom.

Taking advantage of all available light.

Photography is about light. And there is great light all around.

For most of his career National Geographic photographer Sam Abell (look him up) never used a flash. He used the existing light in creative and unique ways. He really saw light.

Whenever possible I try to work creatively with existing light. Here's a recent portrait I did of my niece Jodi.

(She's doing her best impression of a scary zombie in her Grandpa's attic!) Anyway, what you'll notice is two different light sources. One slightly behind her on her right (my left) and one almost directly in front of her.

The light behind her is overcast daylight from a garret window and it acts as a sort of hairlight, creates a nice hi-light and helps separate her from the background. The light in front of her is from a window as well but there is a big tree with yellow leaves out this window and they act as a reflector, casting that nice warm glow on her face. I also positioned her in such a way that the window acts as a catchlight in her eyes (portraits without a catchlight tend to look lifeless). Lastly, she is turned ever so slightly so there is a little shadow on her face, this adds depth.

Of course, this exact look could be reproduce with several strobes and some gels in a studio, but lighting opportunities not dissimilar to this are all around. Just gotta look for them!

Give it a go.